as in imprisoned
to put in or as if in prison
if they catch you, they're going to lock you up and throw away the key!
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for locked (up)
Verb
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DFIs channeled public money into private equity funds whose managers paid themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to expand a health care regime that, in some cases, had effectively imprisoned the people who most needed help.—
Hettie O'Brien,
The Dial,
21 Apr. 2026 -
Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat who was imprisoned from 2018 to 2021, said Tuesday the agreement will lead to unfair competition and the erosion of Canada’s industrial base.—
Laura Dhillon Kane,
Bloomberg,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Since the 2021 army takeover, nearly 8,000 civilians have been killed and some 22,208 political detainees remain jailed, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights monitoring group.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
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Confronted by the local cops, Strahler admitted to creating and sending the images, then was arrested and jailed.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Among them are the New Yorker writer Emily Hahn, who was living in Hong Kong under Japanese occupation, and Donald Hasuike, a fourteen-year-old Japanese American who was interned at a camp in Colorado with family before being shipped to Japan against his will.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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University records show Hunt interned on Capitol Hill for a Democratic senator while Porter was in the House.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Men in that age range who are on full-time military active duty don’t have to register, and neither do those who are continuously hospitalized or incarcerated during that time.—
Tiffani Jackson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Apr. 2026
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Those who are hospitalized or incarcerated continuously on or before their 18th birthday through age 25 are also exempt.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors wanted Gaff confined indefinitely under a new state law targeting violent rapists and child molesters who had finished their prison terms but were deemed likely to reoffend.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
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But while some observers assumed the immediate pain would be confined to agricultural producers or states heavily reliant on international supply chains, the shock proved far more widespread.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
14 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Locked (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/locked%20%28up%29. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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